Oral Reports in the Intermediate ESL Classroom

Abstract

Students are frequently required to present oral reports in ESL classes, but little has been written to guide the instructor in helping the students to prepare these reports or to aid the instructor in evaluating them. This article first discusses the value of oral reports and their place in the ESL curriculum, then presents materials developed for use in intermediate level ESL courses and tested over a three-year period in George Washington University's ESL program. These materials include guidelines for choosing a topic, preparing the report, recording the rough draft on cassette tape, presenting the report in class, and leading a discussion afterwards. Finally, two evaluation forms are discussed: one by the instructor, and one by the students.